. >> brenda: cavuto on business. >> david: ready to go fiscal cliff diving? apparently a lot of businesses and shoppers are already afraid of the fall. i'm charles payne in for neil cavuto. with the holiday shopping season underway a lot of consumers are saying no way. and more than half saying the uncertainty around the fiscal cliff will impact their spending and job creators are cutting back on spending and a bad deal for the economy? well, let's ask. ben stein, dagen mcdowell, charlie gasperino and gary k. want to start with you. bad deal for all of us? >> of course, look, business investment was already down last quarter over 1%, and the word uncertainty just pervades the air and its business, its consumer, how about philanthropic organizations don't no what kind of write-offs for charity and the worst the outcome is probably going to be more, and taxes are going to go up and of course there will be no spending cuts. >> and ben, it does sound ominous, even if you're not someone who reads the wall street journal, the fiscal cliff, fiscal cliff, it could be